Eddie Nketiah returned to the Arsenal starting line-up with style as the England forward hit a first Premier League hat-trick in a 5-0 win over bottom club Sheffield United. Mikel Arteta made five changes for the visit of the Blades and it was Nketiah – in for the injured Gabriel Jesus – who proved the difference and ended a memorable afternoon wearing the captain’s armband. Substitutes Fabio Vieira and Takehiro Tomiyasu wrapped up the points late on with a penalty and a close-range finish respectively on an afternoon where Arsenal’s fringe players took centre-stage. Martin Odegaard dropped to the bench in the most eye-catching of Arteta’s alterations, which also saw Emile Smith Rowe make his first league start since May 2022. The victory took Arsenal up to second place, two points behind leaders and north London rivals Tottenham as Arteta’s men remained unbeaten after 10 league games. For the Blades, this was a galling afternoon where – once their resolute defence was breached for the first goal just before the half-hour mark – the writing was on the wall. The travelling fans sang the name of under pressure manager Paul Heckingbottom but they have still yet to see their team win on their return to the top-flight, with just one point on the board. With Jesus facing a few weeks out with a hamstring issue, Nketiah has once again been tasked with filling his boots as Arsenal’s go-to centre-forward. His touch and finish for the opening goal proved he can do the job as the England international set the Gunners on their way to a comfortable victory over the rock bottom Blades. Wes Foderingham would have expected to be busier in the opening half but he was on hand to push a rasping Gabriel Martinelli strike wide of the post five minutes before the break. The second goal arrived five minutes after the interval, Foderingham this time flapping at a Bukayo Saka corner with the ball dropping to Nketiah, who arrowed a shot into the top corner. A VAR check for a potential foul on the United goalkeeper failed to save the visitors. Nketiah, who made his England debut of the bench in 1-0 friendly win over Australia earlier this month, saved the best for last. Collecting a pass from Smith Rowe, the 24-year-old rifled home from 20 yards to complete his hat-trick. Saka, captain in the absence of Odegaard and Jesus, was replaced soon after and – to cheers from the home supporters – gave the armband to Nketiah. Nketiah initially picked up the ball to take a late penalty awarded after a lengthy VAR check by referee Tim Robinson after Vieira had been caught by Oliver Norwood. But instead Vieira dusted himself down to send Foderingham the wrong way and further extend the lead. Tomiyasu rounded off the scoring deep into added time after Mohamed Elneny’s flick on from a near-post corner was deflected into the path of the Japan defender.

Hat-trick hero Harry Kane scored a goal from inside his own half as Bayern Munich thrashed promoted side Darmstadt 8-0 on Manuel Neuer's return...

Eddie Nketiah scored his first Premier League hat trick as Arsenal brushed aside last-place Sheffield United 5-0 to keep pace in the title race

Player ratings as Arsenal convincingly beat Sheffield United 5-0 in the Premier League. Eddie Nketiah scores a hat-trick and Fabio Vieira and Takehiro Tomiyasu add the gloss to the scoreline with late goals.

Defending champions South Africa face arch-rivals New Zealand in an eagerly awaited Rugby World Cup final on Saturday with both teams in the all-southern hemisphere clash...

Harry Kane continued his incredible start to life at Bayern Munich with a hat-trick in their 8-0 hammering of Darmstadt, with one of his strikes coming from inside his own half.

Barcelona host Real Madrid in the first Clasico of the season as Jude Bellingham gets his first taste of one of the biggest games in world football. Barcelona won last season’s La Liga crown as they surged to their first league title since 2019 under Xavi. The champions are undefeated this season with seven wins and three draws but trail leaders Real Madrid by one point. Madrid’s new signing Bellingham has made an astonishing start to life in the Spanish capital with 11 goals in his first 12 games for the club since arriving from Borussia Dortmund in the summer. The 20-year-old England star will now take centre stage in El Clasico, which is not available on UK television, as Real Madrid look to get revenge on Barcelona for last year’s title win. Follow the latest updates from El Clasico and get the latest odds and tips here. Read More Ballon d’Or shortlist: Who are the nominees for 2023 award? Jude Bellingham once again proves he is the key for England’s Euro 2024 hopes

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The Week 9 slate of the 2023 college football season is upon us. You have some games to watch. Here are the matchups, start times, announcers and TV schedules for every game on Saturday, Oct. 28.

It's safe to say that Tottenham Hotspur aren't missing Harry Kane since he left for Bayern Munich in the summer but that doesn't mean their former striker isn't having a great time in Germany. The England captain scored a hat-trick in Bayern's 8-0 thrashing of Darmstadt in the Bundesliga on Saturday including a spectacular goal from inside his own half. The score was already 4-0 at the time but Kane showed no mercy as he launched a long-range shot from the centre circle seeing Darmstadt's goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen off of his line in spectacular fashion on 69 minutes. Nice. It was just Kane's second goal of the game and he later completed his hat-trick in the 88th minute. Other goalscorers for the German giants were Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala who both scored two, Joshua Kimmich and Bayern legend Thomas Muller. Kane has now scored 11 goals in just 12 games for Bayern who are top of the German Bundesliga at the time of writing. Meanwhile, Kane's former club, Tottenham are flying high in the Premier League and currently sitting at the summit of the English top flight after an impressive start under new coach Ange Postecoglou who is yet to taste defeat in the league with the North London side. Spurs extended their lead at the top of the league on Friday when they beat Crystal Palace 2-0 away at Selhurst Park. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Wayne Rooney's wait for a first point as Birmingham manager will last at least another week after Southampton condemned the Blues to a third...

Mauricio Pochettino lamented that Chelsea were “not nasty enough” in attack as Brentford won 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to send his team to a third home Premier League defeat of the season. Victory for the visitors, earned with second-half goals from Ethan Pinnock and Bryan Mbeumo, maintained their 100 per cent record on this ground since being promoted to the top flight in 2021 and ended Chelsea’s run of three league games unbeaten. The hosts failed to take advantage of a first half that they largely dominated, going close through Noni Madueke who struck the crossbar on his first start of the season. Marc Cucurella should have made more of the chance when Cole Palmer found him unmarked inside the box with a finely weighted ball, the defender lacking the power and precision needed to trouble goalkeeper Mark Flekken. From there, familiar frailties crept into Chelsea’s play and it was little surprise when they fell behind on 58 minutes, Pinnock storming past the ineffectual Axel Disasi to get on the end of Mbeumo’s cross and power his header inside Robert Sanchez’s near post. The goalkeeper was left embarrassed in added time when he was caught out going up for a corner and left the goal empty for Mbeumo to tap home Brentford’s second. Chelsea’s woeful home form has seen them win only once at Stamford Bridge in the league since March, a run that now stands at 13 matches going back to March. And after failing to score here for the 10th time in all competitions in 2023, Pochettino was left to rue the ease with which the visitors coped with his side’s attacking threat. “It’s a clear analysis,” he said. “After the first half we should score and we didn’t. When you dominate and create chances, and you don’t concede chances and the opponent didn’t cross the halfway line, we should score. If you don’t score, you need to blame ourselves. We were not nasty or clinical in front of the goal. “Sometimes you need some luck to score. It would change the game in the second half. But I think we gave them belief because we didn’t score. The second half, we can’t concede the kind of goal that we conceded and that’s why we lost the game. “(We have had) bad luck. (Christopher) Nkunku proved he can score in the big leagues and was injured in the last pre-season game. This type of thing didn’t help. We need to recover (Armando) Broja. Nicolas Jackson is affected for different reasons, he’s young and needs time to adapt. That’s obvious.” The first half ended with the manager remonstrating with a supporter near the dugout who expressed dissatisfaction with Jackson’s lack of involvement. The striker had come to the touchline to receive instruction but was criticised from the stands for his performance, prompting Pochettino to come to his defence. “It was a moment where we all felt frustrated,” he said. “After 40 minutes we’d played really well and created chances, but didn’t score. In that moment the energy was down in the stadium. “(Jackson) came to me and we were talking about positions on the pitch and I gave some direction to him. One fan said ‘wake up’. I said to stop talking in this way, support the players, we need support. It was very respectful.” Brentford boss Thomas Frank reflected on a game in which his players weathered first-half pressure and grabbed their chances when they arrived. “I think our first half wasn’t that good,” he said. “Chelsea were good first half, you see their exciting potential. If I was a Chelsea fan I’d be positive about them. It’s a bad result (for them), but I’m convinced it will come. “I said at half time we need to believe, I didn’t see that enough in the first half. We didn’t give away big chances away, but we gave too much away. “The first goal always changes the dynamic of a game. The way we defended was fantastic.” Read More Matty Ashton at the double as England seal series win over Tonga Everton financial reports just another thing to deal with – Sean Dyche Steve Borthwick’s plans for England’s Six Nations campaign well under way England ‘feeling the heat’ of World Cup implosion – Marcus Trescothick Erik ten Hag admits Man Utd ‘have a way to go’ as they prepare for derby day Son Heung-min hails Guglielmo Vicario for ‘unbelievable saves’ in win at Palace